Harvard Awards Allston Grants

Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino and University President Drew G. Faust joined Allston-Brighton residents and local nonprofit leaders to recognize the nine recipients of Harvard Allston Partnership Fund grants on Friday.

The Partnership Fund, which has awarded approximately $400,000 to local non-profit organizations serving in Allston and North Brighton over the past four years, granted a total of approximately $100,000 to this years nine recipients.

The University and the Boston Redevelopment Authority created the fund in 2008 with a five-year, $500,000 endowment from Harvard.

This year, recipients—which ranged from adult education and after-school programming to country-side summer camps—were awarded a portion of the $100,000 dollars.

The West End House Camp, a 104-year-old non-profit summer camp in Maine, received $4,000 to fund eight two-week scholarships for boys from the Allston-Brighton community.

“Because of this grant, we can basically give these [low-income] boys a spot for free,” said Steve Lepler, the camp’s director. “This grant makes a major difference in the lives of many young people.”

The nine recipients were selected by a committee made up of local residents, city officials, and a Harvard affiliate.

Faust said that one of the program’s primary focuses was to “create opportunities for individuals.”

“These organizations are helping people to exceed expectations, helping people to create dreams,” she told the assembled crowd. “They are helping people set goals and then helping them reach those goals.”

The celebration comes as the University resumes planning for development in Allston.

In 2007, the University began construction on the Allston Science Complex, touted as a $1 billion mecca for stem cell research. But tensions grew between Harvard and neighborhood residents—who were excited by the job prospects and benefits the project would bring—when the University put construction on hold in 2009 due to financial constraints.

Menino said the event honored a fund that demonstrates Harvard’s commitment to improving the Allston-Brighton community.

“I think Harvard has been working hard with the community to make it a better place to live and a better place for people to raise their families,” he said.

The grant recipients also included the Charles River Conservancy, Family Nurturing Center of Massachusetts, Friends of the Honan-Allston Library, Gardner Pilot Academy, the Oak Square YMCA, The Fishing Academy, The Literacy Connection, and the Vocational Advancement Center.

—Staff writer Mercer R. Cook can be reached at mcook@college.harvard.edu.